Austin
Texas
Our
planned long weekend to visit Texas finally began with a 5 am Friday plane ride
out of Philadelphia and finally arriving in the weirdest place in America later
that morning. In a “RED” state, Austin is a “BLUE” dot; this factoid shared
with us by our Uber driver who picked us up at the airport. Tired from the
logistics of the flight we squinted into the bright Texas air looking for the
telltale stamp of weird, but the approach to the Texas capital was all highway
ribbons and fast food enterprises.
It was
not until we reached our South Congress destination to meet Janet’s daughter
did we see the graffiti, the food-trucks and bars that make up the landscape of
Austin that gives her a unique place in
the Texas sunshine. Though the majestic capital presides over Austin the city
is not the Texas you may expect.
The
city certainly has its share of “artistic” types; all seemingly tattooed and
culling a gritty look of slap dash attire, stressed hair styles and
magnificently man-scaped beards and moustaches; with everyone striving to be,
well, weird. Perhaps I’m too conservative in my approach, but the entire city
seemed to go out of its way to be strange? Indeed, the city and citizens revel
in being different and the patented slogan “Keep Austin Weird” is everywhere.
Being weird is not just a lifestyle and attitude in Austin; it is a commodity.
This copyrighted phrase is emblazoned on everything, from t-shirts to shot-glasses, and the weirdness has a theme park quality.
Just
wondering…. Are you weird if you are aware that you are weird? Indeed many
old-timers bemoan the “institutionalization” of Austin weirdness. Some question
whether you are, or can be, weird enough.
MAS
CERVEZA
Thankfully
one can ignore the whys and wherefores of weird and just go out and have fun.
Austin does bulge with watering holes and mouth-watering food-trucks,
restaurants, art and music. I first
happened upon Austin while driving through Texas to research my second novel,
“The Music Made Me Cry” and waded through the lively Pecan Street Festival
which inspired a turning point in the book for me. I remember the place was
packed and music blared from several different stages.
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| CRAFT PRIDE AUSTIN on RAINEY |
Here is
the now corporate sponsored web-site for the Pecan Street Festival:
The
South By Southwest Festival (SXSW) will be held mid-March and features not just
music but film and gaming, although it is considered the largest music festival
in the world. Two thousand musical acts were featured two years ago.
But the
music scene isn’t regulated to just the festivals, and daily music venues all
throughout the greater Austin area throb with activity regardless of the
calendar. The Pecan Street entertainment stretch isn’t the only center of music
though, as there are bars with stages all along South Congress, Lamar and
Rainey Streets. Of course any list I attempt here will give short shrift to the
enormity and scope of Austin’s venues, so here’s a great website to plan your
pub crawl next time you’re in town.
In our
very short time in Austin we were able to get to a couple of places along Pecan
Street, but personally I liked the Rainey Street Historic District. Rainey
Street is just a short walk from the Central Business District and features a collection
of older bungalows that have been renovated and turned into bars with great
backyards, porches and stages. We were lured to Rainey Street our last
afternoon in Austin at the prospect of carousing at Bangers. Not only does
Bangers offer over 100 beers on tap, a huge stage and fantastic beer garden, but
they also make their own sausage! Sadly when we got there they were closing to
prep for a private event. Disappointed, we had to drown our sorrows at other
places along Rainey, first at Blackheart, a whisky bar, and then later at Craft
Pride.
HOW IT
WORKS
Of
course, there’s food in Austin to go with the carousing and despite the hipster
outlook on life, the portions are all Texas-sized. Sadly we didn’t get to
sample the food at Bangers, but we did eat some impressive BBQ at Terry Black’s
on Barton Springs Road.
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| Instructions |
Texas
BBQ in Texas is an entirely different experience than anywhere else. The animal
involved is usually different too. The BBQ of Eastern North Carolina is chopped
pig and served with a vinegary sauce. In Texas it’s mostly cow, and it comes
chopped, beef ribs and brisket. You can also get turkey and pork ribs, but why?
There’s
no table service at any Texas BBQ joint I’ve been to, and Terry Black’s does
not deviate. You go cafeteria style along a railing, picking out your sides and
drinks before ending up at the meat counter where they cut as much as you want
and then you find a seat. Bigger eyes than stomachs usually prevail here, so
mind your sides and meats!
Warm mid-February
weather in Austin allowed us to sit outside to savor our food.
When
leaving we poked around out back to gawk at their smokers. The guy happily pointed
out the wonderful delicacies slowly cooking!
Now, in
researching this article I couldn’t find Terry Black’s BBQ on any Austin top
BBQ list, but it must be good, because we saw the actor Luke Wilson in the
queue for his ‘que.
Another
place we hit was Iron Works which is within walking distance of the convention
center on Red River Street. At first glance Iron Works looks like a foundry of
sorts, but we got our BBQ and sat outdoors at tables overlooking the Waller
Creek. It was a quiet setting despite being on the very edge of downtown. It
may not be considered the best BBQ in Austin, but there was certainly no 90
minute wait for a table.
PRIMO
There’s
something like 1,000 food-trucks in Austin, offering everything from
cupcakes to breakfast tacos. Some are stand alone,
some are clustered in a food-truck trailer parks. Here’s a website for the top
17 best food-trucks to visit. We ate breakfast tacos from Primo’s on First
Street. You can visit Primo’s FB page here:
VEGETARIANS IN TEXAS?
Yes
there are these types of people in Austin. I can’t vouch for the rest of the Lone
Star State, but Austin definitely has their share of vegetarian delights.
One
place we went to was the Bouldin Creek Café. There was a bit of a wait, but the
brunch was decent and they served great coffee. They were a bit expensive.
The
Magnolia Café is equally popular with locals and tourists alike. Cheaper and
consequently very busy, Janet and I both ordered the Eggscape. It features a
mini-mountain of home-fries and sausage topped with eggs for just $6.95.
GOING
BATTY
Bicycling is also very popular and promoted by the city not only as a form of recreation but as a mode of transportation. Here is a map of the city for bikes.
BIKE MAP AUSTIN
Paddleboarding on the Colorado may seem odd, especially in February, but we saw plenty of people out on the river in this fashion. Here’s a place to rent from:
PADDLEBOARDING ON THE COLORADO
Swimming at the Barton Springs is an option on a warm day. Clothing optional though family friendly, the water is fed from a spring that keeps the water around 70 degrees. It’s a place for picnic and a dip as well as a ribald drum circle.
BARTON
SPRINGS AUSTIN TX
The largest urban bat colony in the United States lives under a bridge in downtown Austin. At sunset bats emerge to feed and at high season there’s over a million of these critters flapping about. Here’s a guide to where to go for the best sights. You can also take a bat boat if so inclined.
GUIDE TO BAT SEASON IN AUSTIN
Yeah, Austin may be weird, but there’s a lot to do and see there. Young, vibrant, weird, and well fed Austin is quite a destination.
The largest urban bat colony in the United States lives under a bridge in downtown Austin. At sunset bats emerge to feed and at high season there’s over a million of these critters flapping about. Here’s a guide to where to go for the best sights. You can also take a bat boat if so inclined.
GUIDE TO BAT SEASON IN AUSTIN
Yeah, Austin may be weird, but there’s a lot to do and see there. Young, vibrant, weird, and well fed Austin is quite a destination.
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| AUSTIN WEIRD |
